I really don't think it's a coneflower! Those thorny stems are similar to raspberry, but the leaves look too long. I don't know if all cones are like mine, but the leaf edges on mine are not serrated like that at all. No thorny stems, either. Sad if your coneflowers are gone! Hopefully, they're still under there, trying to grow despite this new plant taking over. If this is something to rip out, be careful to look for the coneflower leaves coming up and don't damage the coneflowers in the process of removing these.

formandfoliage 9b (Sunset zone 15) In picture 2, on the lower right edge of the picture, you can see a small item of bright orange and lemon color. To its left, there is a long branch, see how many leaves does it have. Will rose ever grow this way?

wantanamara, its just common blue grama, probably from seeds you sent me or else seeds I got at the History Museum. I keep trying to get new plants started, I love it. I visited the Museum today. They killed out all that mixed prairie grass growing on that hill of big rocks that I had admired so much, looks like they sprayed everything except the Muhly riverchonii. All the others were just dried up cut back dead grasses. I couldn't believe it! I plan to go back later on to see if they replace it with some other plants. No way its winter kill, that grass is too tough. In another area, they have large drifts of Little Bluestem and I don't know what kind it is but its extremely tall for a bluestem, the old seed heads from last year easily came up to my chest and the stalks are more than twice the height of the leaves, very blue, anywhere from powder blue to steel blue and has thinner leaves than other types. I found a few strays I saved from the weed whacker. You guys, thanks for the nice comments but except for the flame flowers all those plants are from seeds that came from Texas, its stuff grows wild in abundance on the roadsides. Roadsides are great for getting seeds, its a matter of "organization and selection" Wantanamara has great weeds on her property and its the common stuff I collect mostly, nursery's don't carry it because its considered common weeds. My eyeballs are constantly on the lookout for any interesting possibilities and they are everywhere. There is a large white prairie clover plant I just marked out last weekend for later seed gathering here. The thing looks like one of those perfect big white fireworks displays on the 4th of July. Btw, Oklahoma is third in its #'s of varieties native plants, just after Texas and California in the US. I read that this week online. I just ran across a teeny tiny form of stiff wiry grass, actually I think its a carex of some kind, cuter than a button with itty bitty brown seeds on top of those impossibly thin stems that stand up perfectly forming little upside down cone shaped plants that are about 4" tall. I have a little cluster started. This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Thu, Jun 26, 14 at 3:40

Just a clarification to the Florida native who stated newer homes did not fare as well in the hurricanes. That is not the case across the board. I know many older homes with water damage like the new homes - HOWEVER there were PROPORTIONATELY more damaged newer homes - all water damage due to shoddy construction and lack of paint. Yes, according to the report by the Florida Builders Association - PAINT. You need to check into who the builder of the new home was. Builders who had the most problems were Ryland and Mercedes. The subdivision where we recently built was built by Lennar. We had NO damage whatsoever in any of our 300+ homes - not even 1 shingle was lost. We carefully canvassed our neighbors after each hurricane as we live in a smaller community and have developed close relationships with our neighbors. Compare that to our neighborhood in Winter Park - homes there were built from the 50's to the 80's and were custom homes. There was no home without at least shingles missing. The difference is that the newer homes built by quality builders have been built to far better withstand hurrucanes than homes built before hurricane ANDREW came through in 1992. The building code was greatly changed after that in order to avoid the devastation seen in the Homestead area. The roofers had to use nails instead of staples and use more nails in each shingle...one of the main reasons roofs in the newer homes fared so much better than the older homes. The effects of the new code is true in many areas that can't be as easily seen such as: Our home has hurricane straps every 6 feet from the foundation through to the 2nd floor roof. It also has solid poured concrete every few feet throughout all the walls, I could go on, but you get the idea. Also, be sure the check on the schools. They can vary widely...in western Seminole where the previous poster mentioned, Lake Brantley High School, which has a great reputation, rated an A in 2005, but they were a B school in 2003 and a C school in 2004 according to the Seminole County website. It is not uncommon for schools to fluctate - look for a consistent score. You can find the ratings of all Seminole County schools here: http://www.scps.k12.fl.us/_doc/GradesSummary2005.pdf To state that you would never live in eastern or southern Orange County is doing those areas a great disservice. I love living in the Waterford Lakes area (eastern OC) and have friends in the Bay Hill areas and Isleworth areas (Southern OC) that have absolutely fabulous homes and love the area. They sit in their backyards by the pool and watch the Disney/Epcot or Seaworld fireworks at night. Some of these areas also have the newest and most up to date high schools with the latest in technology to offer their students. I would suggest the original poster look over all the different areas of Orlando, it is widespread and there are areas you would be wise to avoid..i.e. Pine Hills, west of downtown,etc. However, every area has its own lifestyle. The area I am in is more relaxed - I have wildlife in my backyard frequently...deer, bobcats, wild turkeys and even wild hogs. We love watching the wildlife come to our yard and feed out of the salt lick or drink from the swimming pool. We have this and we are in a new community. Not all new communities have 'postage stamp' yards. Our yard is not huge but it is between 1/2 and 1 acre - around 3/4 of an acre. We can take 528E and be at the beach in 30 minutes, hit 417S and be at the theme parks in 20 minutes or take 408W and be downtown in 20 minutes or take 417N and be at University of Central Florida and the surrounding research park in 10 min. I think you can find whatever you are looking for here in beautiful Orlando. Just decide what is important to you and take time to look around - there is enough variety for most anything you like.